Why Paine Doesn't Work Retail Anymore
by Smiling and Stabbing
Summary: At one point, everyone's favorite angry sphere hunter still had faith in humanity. Then she worked in retail.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes:

This is something I've been tossing around for awhile, and I finally went through with it. You'll want to beware of mild OOC, explicit language, and random acts of violence. Big thanks to randomsome1 for beta-ing for me.

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"Are you alright?"

Was I alright? Was that some kind of joke?

Because it wasn't funny.

"I'm fine," I snapped at the face staring down at me. It was an outright lie. I wasn't sure where I was, I didn't know what the hell I was supposed to do with my life, and one of my best friends in the world had decided to shoot me in the back. I was really anything but fine.

The man turned away from me and yell out at people I couldn't see, "Tuh'd funno, cra'c veha." He then turned back to me. "We were worried," he explained. "There were gunshots outside, and many of us rushed out to see what was going on. We found you lying on the ground...I shall spare you the more gory details, but needless to say, you required several phoenix downs and a number of potions to revive you."

"Was..." my voice was half caught in my throat. "Was there anyone else there?"

He shook his head. "No, you were the only one we found Miss..."

I took that to mean he was looking for my name. Which meant that, more than likely, all of my ID was missing. "Paine."

"...Miss Paine. Why, should there have been?"

Instead of answering, I asked "Did you find my sword? And my sphere camera?"

"We did indeed find a sword, I've placed it over there," he pointed to where my sword was balanced on a chest of drawers. "As for the sphere camera, I am afraid we did not locate it. Was there anything..."

"Not important," I answered. I finally sat up and put my hand to my pounding head. "Thanks for the help."

"Ah, yes, my help," the man nodded. "My help, even for such a lovely young lady as yourself, is not exactly free."

He was going to charge me. It figures.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked.

"Well," he responded, "after the phoenix downs, the number of potions we had to use, the amount of time you have been staying here, your total comes to...about 100,000 gil."

If I had been able to reach my sword at that point, the whole story would be over there.

"I'll send it to you," I said as I started to stand up.

"I'm afraid that's not going to do it," he replied, sternly. "I'm afraid I will have to ask for the payment in full. Before you leave."

I grit my teeth. "I don't have that kind of gil on me. I'll send it to you once I get a job."

"You must understand Miss Paine, it's not that I don't trust you..." he began.

I cut him off and grabbed a hold of his throat. "I am NOT in a good mood right now. I don't care if you trust me or not. Right now, I don't trust ANYBODY. You will get your damn money when I have it."

To his credit, he didn't panic. He gulped slightly and then simply said "I'm afraid I cannot let you do that. However, if it is a job you are looking for, that I can provide."

I don't know what possessed me, I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was just still confused by everything that had happened. But that's not important.

What's important is that this was the day I met Rin. And I took the job he offered me.

At that point, there was still some of the old Paine left. Even getting shot by her best friend hadn't completely destroyed her. She was stronger than that. She still had some faith in humanity.

Then, I worked retail.


	2. Chapter 2

"Can I help you?"

The woman standing in front of me pinched her face even tighter as she eyed me up. My first week on the job had been anything but eventful, and I was getting bored. I wanted something, anything to shake things up.

Well, maybe not everything. Definitely not a pinched looking woman glaring at me as I stocked shelves.

"Yes, you can help me," the woman snapped. "I need to know the price of something."

"Alright, what is it exactly?"

"I think it's called a 'Mega Potion' or something along those lines."

"You think it's called a 'Mega Potion?'"

"Yes, didn't you hear me?"

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I believe those are 1000 gil."

"Well, there's something else!" She boomed at me. "I get a discount."

"What?"

She rubbed her temple inpatiently, "I. Get. A. Discount. Mr. Rin gives me a discount. I just don't remember how much."

I was still looking for an easy way out of this mess. I should have just gone with my first instinct. Hurt time.

But instead...

"Do you have a member's card or anything?"

"No. He's just always given me the discount. Why don't you know this?"

"Well, if you don't have a card or anything, I don't know. I can go check for you, if you'll give me a second," I put the last antidote on the shelf and headed to the back to find Rin.

"You mean you don't KNOW?" She screamed at me. "How could you not KNOW?"

"I'm just going to go check," I said through gritted teeth. Then, stupidly reconsidering what I'd just said, I decided to say simply "I'm very sorry, it's my first week on the job. I'm not sure of everything yet."

There, I admitted I had screwed up. Everything was...

"You don't KNOW? How could they let you work here if you don't know?" She continued. "I'm sorry my dear, but do you realize what you are doing?" She began pounding the shelf with her fist. "You are EMBARASSING Mr. Rin! And I think I have the right as one of his longest standing customers to point out that you are an embarrassment and that if I were your manager I wouldn't have hired you until you knew every price and every customer in this store!"

This time I went with that first instinct.

I grabbed the woman by the back of the head and pulled her towards the shelf. She screamed as I pounded her head into the shelf I'd just stocked. I held tight to her and pounded her into that shelf again, and then again. I was about to smash her forehead one more time, when I heard "PAINE! Stop!" This was quickly followed by someone pulling my hand off of the woman's head.

Rin immediately began apologizing to the woman. I turned back the shelf and began re-arranging the antidotes that had been knocked over when her head hit the shelf.

The woman left in a huff and I figured it was all over. Rin was going to fire me, let me go without paying him, and it would all be great.

Instead he moved me. To behind the register. To work on my "people skills."

Fuck.


End file.
